PlayStation 4

As hotly-anticipated games go, Elder Scrolls Online is probably one of the most anticipated, and so news that Bethesda Softworks has not only confirmed its console release but dropped one of the more controversial subscription details is most welcome. Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited will land on Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on June 9th, following its March 17th arrival on PC and Mac. Even better, Bethesda is ditching the monthly subscription the promise of which so annoyed gamers last year, though there'll still be in-game purchases for extra content, and an optional "ESO Plus" subscription.

The way we enjoy our movies and other media has solidly shifted away from physical discs and cable TV and toward hard drives packed with files. Without a proper setup, firing up those files for movie night can prove more difficult than popping in a DVD, and so many turn toward entertainment setups to streamline the process. Plex is arguably one of the most popular option out there, providing a clean and easily accessible library interface -- and, now, it is available for PlayStation users in North and South America.

Supposing you've not yet purchased either Borderlands 2 or Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, the team at Gearbox Software and 2K have ushered in a box set made specifically for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. There are two different editions popping up today (2 sets and two versions of each set, one for PS4, the other for Xbox One). The first is just "The Handsome Collection" - this includes both games and a whole lot of add-ons released since Borderlands 2 was first revealed. There's also a remote control Claptrap toy to be had.

This week it's become apparent that the epic pixel-heavy side-scrolling shooter known as Broforce will not be released on Xbox One. According to the creators of this game at Free Lives Games, "as far as I know Microsoft has a clause in their contract where they won't accept an indie game if it launches on Xbox after PlayStation." This comes from Creative Director Evan Greenwood at Free Lives Games, who also confirmed this week that Sony "reached out to us with a deal we couldn't reasonably refuse."

The following video is a preview for a game that may not be appropriate for children. In fact we're sure of it. The release of a new Saints Row game with a Mature rating attached to it is as sure a thing as the giggles that follow. Here we're having a peek at the first release trailer for Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, beyond the gameplay, preparing you for the first launch as it approaches in under a week. Don't forget to watch out for clues to the next chapter as well - this is the end, after all!

This week during CES 2015 Tony Hawk himself headed to the Sony stage during their product showcase and keynote to "give the press a scoop." He spoke about Sony's action cameras - a couple of which were shown off this week for the first time - but also made clear the time and platform for his next Tony Hawk skateboarding game. He couldn't give too many details "I'm under embargo," he said, "but I can tell you that it has T H in the title."

This week the folks at Sony have revealed the first several games that'll be pushed to the public in their PlayStation Plus users for free. This includes The Swapper and Infamous: First Light for PlayStation 4. It also includes Prototype 2 and Duck Tales Remastered for PlayStation 3. PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) users will be treated to Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition as well as the game "Whoa Dave!" This should be a smooth first at-bat for the PlayStation Plus program for the start of the year 2015.

While it'd been rumored that the Xbox One's $349 price point this holiday season would be permanent, Microsoft will indeed be bringing back an extra $50 this January. Starting on the 3rd of January, 2015, the Xbox One will no longer be available for its holiday bundle price point. This includes the Xbox One Assassin's Creed Unity Bundle primarily - while bundles with Forza, Titanfall, and Sunset Overdrive will also be brought back to their original pricing, this allowing Sony a bit more wiggle-room in their console competition through early 2015.

After three days of downtime, millions of frustrated PlayStation owners, and quite probably a fair few tantrums on Christmas morning, Sony's PlayStation Network has finally been restored. The online gaming service had been offline since December 25th, the victim of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), as servers were hammered by web traffic and legitimate gamers were unable to connect for multiplayer titles and more. However, while Microsoft moved relatively quickly to bring Xbox Live back to life, restoring the majority of its services by the following day, Sony's fix was nowhere in sight.

This morning it was made clear that Sony was having trouble with their PlayStation Network. Meanwhile Microsoft was having trouble keeping Xbox Live online - and the hacker group Lizard Squad claimed responsibility. According to reports throughout the day, it would appear that the Xbox Live system had largely repaired problems by around 10AM Central Time - with another spike near 2PM Central Time - with uptime returning again here closer to 5PM Central Time. Sony's PlayStation Network saw problems from around midnight until 10AM Central Time, and again over the past several hours leading up to 5PM Central Time.